Thursday 11 February 2016 15:30, UK
Ireland fly-half Johnny Sexton insists he is raring to go after shrugging off a neck problem ahead of Saturday's Six Nations clash with France.
The 30-year-old trudged off in the closing stages of the 16-16 draw with Ireland in Dublin last weekend, but has proved his fitness to head coach Joe Schmidt as Ireland go in search of back-to-back away victories over France for the first time since 1927.
Sexton, who played his club rugby in Paris with Racing Metro before rejoining Leinster last summer, is now expecting another tough physical examination from the Les Bleus' midfield, which includes an old rival in Stade Francais' Jonathan Danty.
"I'm okay now, I just got a bang on top of the head and it just compressed my neck a little bit," said Sexton. "But I'm fit to go and really looking forward to it.
"I'll be fine - I probably felt the way front-rowers feel every day, but as a soft out-half I just didn't hide it as well.
"We've only had one chance to see France under their new management, but some of the new individuals they've thrown in have impressed.
"They've got dangerous guys across the backline.
"I've played against Danty a few times when I was in Paris, and he's pretty similar to Mathieu Bastareaud in stature. He's got a lot of ball-playing abilities and speed to add to that too though.
"But we've prepared really well for it, we've tried to give them the respect they deserve. I don't think you can ever go to Paris confident. They are never beaten over there, it's a tough place to go.
"Just because we've had a little purple patch against them doesn't mean anything now."
